Friday, December 3, 2010

Happy Hanukkah (or Chanukah)! This eight-day Festival of Lights revolves around spending time with family and friends, playing games like the drediel, lighting the menorah, and enjoying delicious foods like latkes, "sufganiyot" (jelly-filled doughnuts), and brisket. Being a winter holiday, it is also perfect to enjoy soups - ranging from the traditional matzo ball soup and cabbage soup to new variations such as a beef and braised beef soup. Enjoy the holiday and the soup!

1. Matzo Ball Soup

Part One—Chicken Stock
Ingredients:
• 1 whole chicken cut into 1/4's (I used a small organic chicken)
• 1 large pot almost completely filled (75%) with water
• 4 carrots
• 2 stalks of celery, cut up
• 2 small parsnips or 1 large parsnip, cut up
• 1 small yellow onion, diced into small cubes
• 1 small bunch of dill tied tied together with white thread
• 1 small bunch of parsley tied together with white thread
• Approximately 2 tablespoons of salt, tasting throughout the simmering process, adding more if needed

Directions:
Fill up a pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the chicken and cover. While that is cooking cut up, tie the thread around the dill and parsley, and the clean the vegetables. When the water/chicken starts to boil, clean any bubbles or dirt that acclimates to the surface. Add all of the vegetables and the salt to the pot. Set to a very low flame and allow the water to simmer slowly for two hours. Periodically check the pot and taste the concoction, adding salt if needed. After three hours let the vegetables sit in the pot until they cool. Discard all vegetables except carrots. Depending on when you are making the matzo meal you may need to keep your broth in the fridge or remove the vegetables and place the pot immediately back on the heat as the matzo balls are added.
Part Two—Matzoh Ball MixIngredients:
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/2 cup matzoh meal
• 1/2 teaspoons of salt
• 2 tablespoons of cold seltzer
* Makes approximately six medium-sized matzo balls
Directions:
In a medium-sized bowl mix eggs and oil with a fork, but do not beat the mixture. Add the matzoh meal, salt, seltzer, and mix together. Cover with aluminium foil and place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Start your pot of broth again and bring it to a slight boil. After 20 minutes remove the matzoh from the fridge and wet hands. Make the balls and place them in the boiling pot. Lower the flame, cover, and cook for 40 minutes. Remove the matzoh balls and broth with a spoon, place into a soup bowl, and enjoy!

2. Sweet-and-Sour Cabbage Soup - A recipe from cookbook author, Lisa Yockelson, this brisket and cabbage soup includes raisins, cabbage and beef for a tasty soup that can also be enjoyed throughout the year. The post also includes a soup recipe for a potato and dairy soup.

3. Apple and Parsnip Soup - A perfect pairing with your potato latkes, this simple parsnip and soup includes Granny Smith apples, coriander, olive oil, onions and parsnip. Also a quick and light treat any time of the year.

4. Mushroom Barley Soup - A classic soup that is also a delicious treat for Hanukkah. The recipe includes pearl barley, mushrooms, celery, and tomatoes that is said to cook under an hour!

5. Beet and Braised Beef Soup - Featured on Epicurious, this beet and beef soup is a hearty soup for the holiday that includes lima beans, carrots, beef ribs, beef, celery root, beets and cabbage. The flavor combination of dill, scallion and red wine vingear that Peter Hoffman (creator of this soup) says would be paired well with a "well-dressed salad of fall greens and great rye bread." The recipe also includes a tutorial on how to choose the meat for the soup.